Johnson, William H (1901–1970)

US painter. In 1938 he settled in New York where he began to produce perhaps his most important work. It is recognized for its original fusion of such disparate strains as Van Gogh and African sculpture, constructivism and African textiles, all united to convey a personal vision that is both modern and vernacular.

He was born in Florence, South Carolina. After a childhood of poverty, he went to Harlem and for five years studied painting at the National Academy of Design, then went to Europe where he lived mainly in Denmark and Norway, absorbing some European influences and gaining a reputation through exhibitions. In 1943 he lost everything in a fire, then his wife died, and by 1947 he was placed in a mental institution. Virtually all of his surviving output – some 800 paintings and watercolours and 400 drawings and prints – was given to the National Museum of American Art in 1967.